Gateway to Successful Client Relationships
Learn how to create an "Exceptional Customer Service Plan", your gateway to successful client relationships..
Undoubtedly, as a Business owner the majority of your
mission is to establish long-term relationships with your clientele through
providing exceptional customer service. Specifically, this means providing
service that, by far,
exceeds what your competitors are providing, because in today’s market basic
customer service is simply not enough to capture or retain customers. More
importantly, exceptional service is required to make one’s business
stand out from its’ competitors, more so because consumers have so many
choices from which to choose. If they cannot distinguish you from your
competitor, your business will get “lost in the sauce.” Your first step is
to gain the competitive edge, by being savvy enough to find out what your
competitors are not doing, and then capitalize on this by establishing an
exceptional plan which will create customers who are your “Raving Fans” –
Ken Blanchard 1993.
To make one’s company unique from it’s’ competitors, the fundamental recipe
is two large scoops of “thinking outside the box” + one big scoop of what
your competitors are NOT doing = Your company’s own distinct and
Exceptional Customer Service Recipe. In it’s simplest terms, the
“Exceptional Customer Service Plan,” demonstrates our best customer service
code of ethics, and it designed to portray to our customers “what makes us
different”
from our competitors. You see, unless there is some distinguishing trait,
the customer sees our products, and or services, as the same as our
competition. Plain and simple, an excellent and thought provocative
servicing plan will separate us from the competition.
So, how do we create this Exceptional Customer Service Plan? The key
starting point is to Research/Secret Shop and conduct due diligence on your
competitors. To accomplish this, become a “true customer”, call your
competitors and or visit their storefront – purchase their products or
services; and after the sale is completed ask if they have a survey to
complete. In short, the goal is to do more than just stop by one of your
competitor's locations and price shop them. You should focus on finding out
the truth - what are their clients raving or not raving about.
After you experience your competitors’ products or services, as a Customer,
ask yourself and answer the following basic questions, honestly. And
remember, honesty in answering the questions, will help you make your Plan,
Exceptional! (Please note that, for some of the questions listed below, you
may have to be a little more creative, diligent and resourceful to answer
them).
Use these 14 Questions to Rate your competitors.
1. Was there personalized service by the staff?
2. How are they greeting the customers? Or did they greet the customers?
3. How did they answer the telephone? Or, was it voicemail?
4. Was the staff knowledgeable?
5. Was the staff friendly, helpful and patient while you were considering
their products or services?
6. Is their sales methodology up to date?
7. Are their products and services up to date?
8. Did they add value to your experience as a customer? What did you learn
as customer as a result of shopping this competitor?
9. What was their overall, response time in selling their products or
services? Did you make the purchase within your timeframe, or did you have
to beg them to take your business?
10. Did they “Sell” you and send you on your way? Or was it a buying
experience?
11. How timely was their client follow-up, after the sale or services? Or
did they follow-up?
12. Did they record your customer contact information into their database
for constant contact?
13. How consistent and timely were they in resolving the client’s
challenges?
14. Do you see indications of where they are headed in the future with
products and services?
Other ways to conduct due diligence on your competitors’ entails, sending
your own secret researchers/shoppers to conduct the same research, or
surveying your competitor’s clients.
After you secret shop and research your competitors, create your plan for
Exceptional Service for your clients. Here are core questions that will help
you get off to a great start.
• Ask, “How can my servicing plan be different from my competitors”? (The
Distinguishing Facts or WWCS – What Would Clients Say) What will clients say
about their experience with your company, versus an experience
with your competitor?
• ABC Company is different because they..
• I was impressed with how they..
• Their customer service is..
• When I had a challenge they….and I was..! Design a plan that creates a
“Lasting Impression” on your clients (The “WOW” Effect”).
• Design a plan that incorporates challenge solving in a timely manner and
follow-up for a certain amount of time after the challenge has been solved.
Use these 10 Tips to help you create your company’s Exceptional Service
Plan.
1. Employ a Friendly and knowledgeable staff as the first initial
contact/greeter to your clients.
2. Institute a “Lighting Speed” response time in responding to client’s
questions or challenges.
3. Employ a part-time or full-time customer service/quality control manager
to remain in touch with clients.
4. Keep in contact with your clients, do things to demonstrate that you care
about them even when they are not purchasing your products or services.
5. Offer free, on-site, client scheduled trainings on products and services
sold to new and existing clientele.
6. Institute a 100% exceptional service, or money back guaranteed policy. (I
know that’s a real bold statement, but if you believe in your products or
services, you shouldn’t think twice about offering this).
7. Create “hassle free and effort free” as well as lightning speed solutions
to resolving client’s challenges with services or products they’ve purchased
from your company.
8. Be consistent in providing new products and services information to your
clients.
9. Institute customer appreciation events, quarterly, and one large event
annually to show your customers that you appreciate their business. It is
also a way to fact-find on your company’s strengths, and to find out things
that you can improve upon.
10. Be Creative – Try new ideas continuously, to keep your plan Exceptional,
fresh, and up to date. And, when implementing new customer service ideas,
ask the clients for their feedback on these new ideas. Think “Outside of the
Box” to renew your company’s Exceptional Customer Service Plan. And, if
nothing else, as you are trying new customer service ideas, your clients
will think that you are more innovative than your competitors’ and that your
company is forward thinking and progressive.
Continue to make sure that your Team is Exceptional! One of the best moves
that you can make, to insure your company’s competitiveness is by hiring
Exceptional People. Exceptional People can help you implement your service
plan and build good, healthy repeat client relationships. As a business
owner, this means that you must, interview tough and hire good people that
want to service your clients, and those who will represent your company
well. It is said that, statistically, 68% of customers turn away or never
return due to the attitudes of the company’s employees, either in person or
on the phone. (Just think of how many times, you as a consumer did not call
a
company back because you weren’t “feeling the love.”)
And since it’s not a perfect world, and issues as well as challenges will
arise with your customers, after you hire those “good people,” it is most
important that you train and also update them on ways to solve customer
challenges effectively, to save the customer time.
Did I mention Train, Train, & Train, anyone and everyone to become a master
at solving customer challenges? As a business owner, you will find that all
that matters to the client who is having an issue with your products or
services is, WHEN, and WHEN you resolve the issue. Thus, train your team to
be “Solution Based.” Simply put, the term “Solution Based” means, a focus to
solve a challenge or problem, without distractions from the barriers
that exists, but to center on only the solution(s) available. (This is not
in the dictionary, but my definition).
And finally, establish a time frame for when you update your plan, i.e.
every 6-months, or every end of fiscal year, etc. Based upon your business
and how rapidly your industry changes, some businesses may need to update
their plan more frequently than others to stay ahead of their competitors.
Overall, though, as the business owner, you will be the best judge.
A Great Big Idea on helping you make your Plan, Exceptional.
When in doubt, seek some excellent examples to help you build your
Exceptional Customer Service Plan – The Hospitality Industry! By Far, if you
really want a “great” experience as a customer, visit or stay at one of the
high-end hotels and seek ideas on how to “top the bar” on offering
exceptional client service. I chose Commerce Bank, Bloom Grocery Store and
Jiffy Lube because of the WOW! that I personally experienced with these
companies. Overall, if you can experience one or all of these companies, pay
attention to how they greet and treat their customers, as well as the
responsiveness to customers.
Kim’s Personal Picks
• Four Seasons
• Ritz Carlton
• Commerce Bank – Winner of JD Power Customer Satisfaction Award -2006
• Bloom Grocery Store
• Jiffy Lube
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